Many of you have asked me about the type of thread you must use to
embroider. There are more and more possibilities at the haberdasheries every
day and is really important to choose the appropiate thread for the work we
want to do.

1- The fabric
on which we are going to embroider, both its composition and the weave.

At first, we will choose a thread of similar composition to the fabric
because they will fit better. That means the embroidery will not be taut, tight,
or too loose. But on the other hand, if we want to obtain certain effects we
will look for a thread that contrasts with the fabric. In this case we will
have to worry especially for the tension of the fabric and the thread at the
time of emboridering. For this is essential to handle properly the frame.

As for the weave, there is a very common mistake: to consider than bigger
weave is easier to embroider. But it is just the opposite, if the weave is smaller
is more versatile, we have more options to place the needle right where we want
and it’s up to us to decide if we want to embroider with the stitches closer o
more separated. A big weave forces you to separate very much the stitches, so there is no choice than using a thick thread,
which probably is not the one we wish.

There are so many types of embroidery that is impossible, besides that
it would not be useful, to enumerate the appropiate thread for each one. But
when you choose a project, you should find out the thread that is used for the
embroidery you want to do. Basically, the thickness, the flexibility, the torsion
or the braid (according to the type of thread) and the aspect of the thread are
determinant for the technique and the effect of every type of embroidery:

The flexibility is very important to
prevent the fabric from getting tight under the embroidery or this to be too
losse . The choice depends both on the fabric we are going to use and the type
of embroidery.

There are threads which are braid (pearl
cotton) and others which have a torsion (mouliné). Every embroidery technique requires
a type of thread and a handling of it to prevent the thread from coiling or fraying.

The aspect of the thread sometimes
determines the type of embroidery and other times our own taste: matt or
brilliant threads, more or less thick ...

The effect that we want to obtain leads us to play with thicknesses,
textures, shines or matts... The more we respect the previous points and the
more skill we have embroidering, the better. We will have more freedom of
choice. Some techniques of embroidery could be complex because the threads they
use are difficult to handle (silk threads, for example, are very slippery).

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